William J. Evans

William J. “Bill” Evans, 91, of Streator passed Wednesday, October 21, 2020 at his residence.

Private family services will be held.

Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Streator. His grandchildren and great-grandchildren will serve as pallbearers.

Full military rites will be accorded by members of the Leslie G. Woods American Legion Post 214 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1492.

The Solon-Telford Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

Born October 13, 1929 in Peru he was the son of Floyd and Nellie (Lawless) Evans. He married Carolyn Ator on May 1, 1982 in Streator.

He is survived by his wife Carolyn Evans of Streator; daughters, Cathy Olson of Streator and Jean Hoag of Streator; sons, William D. (Wanda Fialko) Evans of Streator and Mark Evans of Glendale, Arizona; stepdaughter, Gina Melody of Streator; stepsons, Kirk (Denice) Melody of Varna and Mark (Carissa) Melody of Germantown Hills; grandchildren, Tony, Kyle, Jenny, Josh, Laurie, Jaron, Meg, Ashly, Trace, Drew and Gracie; 14 great grandchildren; a sister, Marilyn Jean (Russell) Thayer of California; nieces and nephews also survive.

He was preceded in death by his parents; sons, Blaize Allen Evans and Michael James Evans; a sister, Lois Hoskins and a brother, Raymond Edmund (Eddie) Evans.

Bill attended St. Mary’s Grade School and Streator High School.

He served in the United States Navy from 1948-1952 during the Korean conflict. He was stationed on the USS Okanogan 220. He was a Corpsman while in the service and was also stationed in Japan, Korea and China.

He worked for many years for Illinois Valley Dairy (Pitstick) as a Milkman until his retirement. He was also an accomplished Neon Glass Tube Bender through the years, a trade he learned while attending a training class in Harlem, New York when he was younger. He practiced this for many years for various different sign companies including, Ken Light Neon and Designs and Signs.

He was a member of St. Michael the Archangel Parish. He was also a member of the Msgr. George A. Dzuryo Knights of Columbus Council # 790, Leslie G. Woods American Legion Post 217 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1492 where he was a life member.

Bill was very active through the years with athletics and continued to play Men’s softball into his 40’s. He started boxing while in the service and boxed in the Golden Gloves for two years locally. He loved golfing and bowling and played in several leagues through the years. He was also a longtime IHSA basketball official.

Memorial may be directed to St. Michael the Archangel Church, Streator.

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